Report: OLED smartphone panels to become more popular than LCD by 2020

The iPhone X is the first (but probably not the last) iPhone model to use an OLED display

2017 has brought a lot of changes to the way smartphones look and feel, but arguably none is bigger than the shift towards near bezel-less displays. And as the bezels shrink and screen real estate increases, the display itself becomes even more important than it was before. Which brings us back to a question that has been dividing smartphone users for years: LCD or OLED?

And while several years ago the answer for most people (and phone manufacturers) would be LCD, Samsung has had a large part in increasing the popularity of OLED, thanks to its inclusion in every flagship model in the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series. Also, the introduction of flexible OLED panels has brought a lot more options in terms of form factor, with a notable example being Samsung's own curved display devices from the past few years.

Or in other words, OLED is becoming ever more popular. And it seems like this trend isn't planning on stopping any time soon — in fact, a new report from research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants claims that OLED usage will surpass that of LCD in smartphones by 2020.

Another notable prediction is that flexible OLED solutions are expected to become more popular than their rigid counterparts by the end of next year. Whether this means that most OLED smartphones will have a curved screen or not remains to be seen, however — a manufacturer could choose to use a flexible panel in a flat display, provided it is the cheaper solution (and in fact, some reports claim flexible OLED panels are actually cheaper).

As for what this could mean for the end user, it's mostly good news. OLED offers considerably better image quality, and the potential for less power consumption (displaying pure black requires no energy). Still, there are bound to be some growing pains for manufacturers other than Samsung, who haven't had a years-long experience in building their own OLED panels.

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Posts: 306; Member since: May 04, 2017

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 5:26 AM 3

Posts: 7365; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

Still OLED has been been on not only Samsung flagships, but it mid range smartphones for years now. It's only recently that we have seen it on some lower priced Samsung devices as well. Now that LG has started to ramp up production of their OLED displays, that even more flagship devices as well as more mid range devices will have OLED instead of LCD. A long time coming, but finally every one can see how much better OLED is over LCD.

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 5:39 AM 2

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 12:51 PM 0

Posts: 2968; Member since: Jun 19, 2012

Honestly I don't care as long as my phone has a good quality display.... Just because a display is OLED doesn't mean it is good... And the same for regular LCD.
The place I definitely DO NOT want OLED just yet is my Laptop and my TV... Those are devices that I tend to keep for at least 4 years and OLED still needs to overcome burn-ins and not just by software. I have seen enough "quality" OLED with burned pixels and faded colors

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 9:18 AM 0

Posts: 2445; Member since: Mar 23, 2012

Apple did this with iPhone X...!! Ya ya they use Samsung made displays but they paid them in Billions for them, they never got them for free. In fact About half of Samsung's revenue come from selling stuff to Apple. Without Apple, Samsung is nobody but without Samsung Apple will still sell iPhones.

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 5:41 AM 0

Posts: 92; Member since: May 04, 2009

same can be said for apple. if they didn't have companies to out source for pretty much their entire iphone hardware then the iphone wouldn't have been made. these days Apple is more about software which is the reason why they outsource for their hardware.

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 6:02 AM 8

Posts: 56; Member since: Oct 14, 2017

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 6:08 AM 0

Posts: 288; Member since: Mar 19, 2015

oh god, another juvenile Apple fanboi
Samsung Electronics made about $200B last year, of which maybe 3% or 4% of their sales come from Apple.
Samsung has been doing fine without Apple, especially their display business, and will continue to do so without Apple. It's difficult to say what Apple's next product might look like without Samsung's AMOLED though.

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 6:10 AM 5

Posts: 679; Member since: May 27, 2015

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 6:44 AM 4

Posts: 1050; Member since: Sep 20, 2017

You must be high as a kite. Samsung was making phones long before Apple. Apple didn't start using Samsung mostly until recently.
Samsung has manage years without Apple.
Why do you have to spew this non-sense everyday?
Are you really that stupid and desperate for attention?
Samsung makes its money from selling components. They were selling plenty way before Apple started buying.
Gosh dude. You have you head so far up Apple arse, you can't even see your hand before your false./
If you love Apple great. But you don't have to act stupid though.

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 10:07 AM 0

Posts: 3103; Member since: Feb 06, 2013

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 10:42 AM 0

Posts: 699; Member since: May 06, 2013

the laughable thing is the Samsung mid-ranger devices had amoled for years now and they are also putting them in low-end ones as well
but most AMOLED screen devices from other manufacturers cost more than 700+

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 6:05 AM 0

Posts: 306; Member since: Nov 06, 2013

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 6:10 AM 2

Posts: 3133; Member since: Apr 15, 2016

"The iPhone X is the first (but probably not the last) iPhone model to use an OLED display"
U should use Samsung's smartphone picture instead of iPhone. Samsung got the credit for developing AMOLED for years, perfected it, and make it affordable for most people.
Even your source use Samsung's smartphone picture..
shameless iPhonearena

posted on Oct 16, 2017, 6:12 AM 6

Posts: 542; Member since: Oct 16, 2011

Yup. Apple, iPhonearena and gadget bloggers in general has actively spread lies about AMOLED for years, almost a full decade, to make Apple seem more technically competitive.
Funny how fast that narrative completely disappears when Apple hops on the bandwagon.

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